Railway appliance.



M. OBRIEN.

RAILWAY APPLIANCE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21. 1916 1,206,131.

Patented Nov. 28, 19 16.

UNITED STATES PATENT ornron MICHAEL OBRIEN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO "UNITED RAILWAY S COMPANY OF ST. LOUIS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

RAILWAY APPLIANCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

Application filed April 21, 1916. Serial No. 92,779.

To all w ham it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Mionsnn OBRIEN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Railway Appliance, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway appliances and has particular reference to electric or cable cars. It is well known that cars of the type mentioned require the constant presence of the motorman or gripman at the mechanism for controlling the car. During cold weather the space occupied by the mo-- tor-man or gripman is usually inclosed and since a large proportion of these workmen are addicted to the use of tobacco, it is desirable both for their convenience and for sanitary purposes to provide means by which they may expectorate without soiling the car, thus maintaining the car in a clean and sani tary condition and enabling the motorman or gripman to continue the use of tobacco and the incident expectoration.

The object of the invention is to provide a device adapted to be supported within an opening in the floor of the car and constituting a passage through the floor for receiving and conducting the exporations through the bottom of the car to the street or roadbed and provided with a hinged closure forming a part of the floor when in closed position. and having an arm constituting the device whereby the closure may be moved to open position and which also serves as a stop to prevent the closure from being moved to or beyond balanced p'osition, so that the closure when released will automatically assume its normally closed position, as a part of the car floor.

There are other objects of a more specific nature, all of which will be apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of the forwardend of an electric car having the device of the present invention mounted in proper relative position thereon. Fig. 2 is a relatively enlarged view showing the floor of the car in section and the device of the present invention in elevation. Fig. 3 is a similar view illustrating the closure in raised or open position. Fig. 4 is a sectional view space A, occupied by the motorman is often I inclosed it is desirable for the reasons herein stated to provide means whereby the motor man may conveniently expectorate without inconvenience and without placing the car n -an unsanitary condition. As shown the device which I have provided for this purpose includes an inverted trunco-conical passage 1 seated within an opening in the floor of the car and provided with an integral horizontal. flange 2 around its upper end. The flange 2 is comparatively thin and has bearing upon the floor of the car and thus supports the passage 1. securely in position. The device is made rigid with the bottom of the car by a number of fastening screws 3 passing through holes in the flange 2 and engaging in the floor. The heads of thescrews are seated in countersunk holes in the flanges so that the upper ends of the screws are flush with the surface of the flange 2. The passage 1 extends a considerable distance below the floor of the car so that the refuse passing therethrough is directed downwardly at a point substantially remote from any of the car mechanism and at a sufficient distance below the bottom of the car to prevent any of the refuse from becoming deposited thereon.

An annular seat 4 is formed at the upper end of the passage 1 within the flange 2 and constitutes a support for the hinged closure 5. The closure 5 is in the form of a plate, of a shape and size adapted to fit within the opening into the passage 1 and to seat upon the seat 4. When so positioned the upper surface of the closure is flush with the flange 2 and therefore constitutes a part of the car floor.

At one side of the closure 5 an integral arm 6 is provided, said arm extending laterally and obliquely upwardly from the edge of the closure. The outer extremity of the arm 6 is between two lugs 7 integral with and rising from the flange 2 and constitut 7 mg a support for a hinge pm 8 extending,

through said lugs and through the arm .6. Thus the closure is pivotally supported and is capable of being moved to open position so that the passage 1 will be opened for the convenience of the motorman.

It is desirable that the closure 1 be mainmotorman so that the passage may be easily opened by the motorman without thenecessity of moving from the space At No at- 1 tention need be given to reclosing the passage, since the closure automatically returns 40 tained normally in closed position and to prevent the closure from being. moved to posltion in which it mightremam open, I

fioor thereof, a flange in connection with 45 the car floor around said opening, an annular seat with n sald flange, lugs rising from provide a device for limiting movement of the closure to prevent movement thereof to or beyond balanced position. In the form shown the arm 6 is provided with an tended portion 8 rising above the lugs 7.

and constituting a foot lever whereby the motorman may conveniently raise the closure to open the passage 1. The extended portion 9 is formed with a part 10 adapted to contact'with' the floor of the car to limit movement of the closure before the closure reaches a vertical position, thus preventing the closure from assuming a balanced position in which it might remain open. Since the entire weight of the closure is at one side of the hinge pin 8 and since it is impossible for the closure to be moved to balanced position, it is obvious that the closure will automatically return to closed position when the lever 9 is released.

By reference to Fig. 1 it will be observed that the deviceis placed in a convenient lo- 7 cation within the space occupied by the said flange, a closure supported on said seat having its upper surface in substantially the same plane with the upper surface of the flange, an arm extending upwardly and laterally from said closure between said lugs, a pivot pin retaining the arm between the lugs, and a lever extending from said arm obliquely upwardly and outwardly rela tive to said closure, whereby said closure may be raised from said seat, said arm be ing arranged to engage with the car floor to stop movement-of said closure before the closure. reaches vertical position, to enable said closure to return to closed position by gravity when said arm is released.

In witness whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' MICHAEL OBRIEN.

Witnesses:

N. Gr. BUTLER, JOHN D. RIPPEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the flommissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

